Abstract:It is demonstrated that the magnetic field has a profound effect on the length of a single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) synthesized in the arc discharge. An average length of SWNT increases by a factor of 2 in discharge with magnetic field as compared with the discharge without magnetic field, and an amount of long nanotubes with the length above 5 micron also increases. A model of SWNT growth on metal catalyst in arc plasma was developed. Monte-Carlo simulations confirm that the increase of the plasma density in the magnetic field leads to an increase in the nanotube growth rate and thus leads to longer nanotubes.